The Essential Rene Guenon: Metaphysics, Tradition, and the Crisis of Modernity Paperback – October 15, 2009
by Rene Guenon (Author), John Herlihy (Editor), & 1 more
4.6 out of 5 stars 42 ratings
Part of: Perennial Philosophy (47 books)
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A prolific writer and author of over 24 books, Rene Guenon was the founder of the Perennialist/Traditionalist school of comparative religious thought. Known for his discourses on the intellectual and spiritual bankruptcy of the modern world, symbolism, tradition, and the inner or spiritual dimension of religion, this book is a compilation of his most important writings. A key component of his thought was the assertion that universal truths manifest themselves in various forms in the world's religions and his writings on Hinduism, Taoism, and Sufism are particularly illuminating in this regard.
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Publisher : World Wisdom; Illustrated edition (October 15, 2009)
Language : English
Paperback : 312 pages
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4.6 out of 5 stars
Top reviews from the United States
Gregory Shtevensh
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential
Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2018
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I'm a big fan. It can carry across disciplines. This is something that more people should know so that the happy few become happier.
2 people found this helpful
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OAKSHAMAN
5.0 out of 5 stars A Lifetime Led Me Here.
Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2010
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The best recommendation that I can give to this book is that as I read through it I was refreshed. Then again this was also the case as I read THE ESSENTIAL FRITHJOF SCHUON from World Wisdom. With both authors I had read a considerable amount of their core writings before hand, yet I did not really feel any redundancy here. These teachings are the living heart of the perennial philosophy, so how could they ever cease to strengthen the connection to the higher Spirit?
Guenon states outright that only a very few readers in this dark age are going to possess the inherent capacity to understand his writings due to their education and upbringing. Nothing can be done about that. Somehow I seem to be able to understand what is being related. Indeed, I understood these principles long before I came on writers and teachers of the traditionalist school. Yet, those principles are related with a precision that goes far beyond my ability to express them- even in translation. Whether others resonate with them is something that I cannot predict. I would imagine that the odds are against it. Yet, you can still make the attempt. Intuitive intellection is a faculty that still exists in our world.
Another thing that struck me was an anecdote in the introduction where a Ph.D. candidate was denied permission to write his thesis on Guenon because the said writer had never done anything "original." Of course not. Rene Guenon intentionally stayed in the background as he related the teachings of the perennial philosophy to a new generation. You could just as well entitle this book "The Essential Sophia Perennis." You cannot add anything new to these teachings, you can merely pass them on with clarity to the current generation.
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James J. Omeara
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential Wisdom for the Kali Yuga
Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2010
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Recently, I found myself with some forced leisure on my hands, so I decided to make use of it by reading through the works of Rene Guenon in English, as published by Sophia Perennis. Yes, that's the kind of guy I am. In the midst of the project, this book was announced, and I was undecided; would it be redundant? In the end I decided to get it, and I'm glad I did.
First of all, the presentation is excellent -- a handsome size, sturdy binding, clear, well laid out typography, in line with the rest of World Wisdom's publications -- a pleasure to read. Some illustrations would have been nice, especially in the sections dealing with sacred symbolism, and one can always imagine a fancier format -- something along the lines of the Penguin Classics Deluxe Editions -- but these are minor points.
More importantly, the selections are well chosen; they are minimally edited but arranged to flow together almost as if they had appeared that way originally; usually two or three in a row from the same book, the books appearing somewhat chronologically but also within four "Worlds" : the Modern, the Metaphysical, the Hindu, and the Traditional. I suppose the Modern comes first, not the Metaphysical, to ease the modern reader into Guenon's metaphysical world; the Hindu is given its own due to the amount of attention Guenon devoted to it, while the Traditional has not only other traditions such as Islam but also topics that apply to traditions generally, such as rites, teachers, etc.
The selections, with few exceptions, are drawn from a handful of obvious major works; there's nothing here that's previously unpublished, or newly translated; no letters, diaries, etc. The Introduction, however, is drawn from a transcript of a lecture by Martin Lings that might be relatively inaccessible to the general reader.
This would obviously make a fine introduction to Guenon, but even someone who already has the original sources will find this a useful and pleasant supplement, something to pick up and read from time to time. I am reminded of Elmer O'Brien's comment about his similar anthology, The Essential Plotinus [not to be confused with World Wisdom's own The Heart of Plotinus]: these selections are essential in the sense that Coleridge spoke of essential poetry: the passages one returns to with the greatest pleasure.
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J. Crockett
5.0 out of 5 stars 5 STARS, hard copy; 2 STARS,kindle edition!
Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2013
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Content of the book is outstanding, BUT spaces in multi-sylable words in the kindle edition are nerve racking; several on each page in part 2. This matter should be fixed quickly, so that thinking readers can take advantage of the benefits in using a kindle. It beats me how such a great manuscript can be so mis-represented because of the technique used to copy. Where are the scribes when you need them?
7 people found this helpful
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Richard Hynson
5.0 out of 5 stars A treasury of thought.
Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2015
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A treasury of thought, densely packed with excerpts of Rene Guenon's wisdom. A must-read for a serious student of theology.
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Joshua Kempf
4.0 out of 5 stars I would have liked to know this
Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2017
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A compilation of chapters from Guenon's books and introductions and summaries from the editor. I think 5 out of 36 chapters are Guenon. The "summaries" are not always representative. I would have liked to know this. Cheaper than buying all his books and faster than reading them all. I love to read and would not have chosen the short cut. I like Guenon. I find this editor/author offensive.
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percy bernedo
5.0 out of 5 stars a must for anyone interested in Metaphysics
Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2014
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this book give us a sober view of our world in which quantity has replaced quality, It will also help the reader understand the primordial truth behind traditional religions.
5 people found this helpful
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Brian D. Babiak
5.0 out of 5 stars An essential book
Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2015
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One of the most important books I've ever read. He correctly diagnoses what's wrong with our modern world.
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franky2dita
4.0 out of 5 stars Serio e completo
Reviewed in Italy on October 28, 2012
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Un sommario accurato del pensiero del grande filosofo Renè Guènon, interessante sia per i profani che per gli esperti del settore.
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kanedaitsuki
4.0 out of 5 stars ルネ・ゲノンのアンソロジー
Reviewed in Japan on January 18, 2010
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「近代世界」「形而上学世界」「ヒンドゥー教の世界」「伝統世界」と名づけられた４つの章に分け、ルネ・ゲノンの全作品から文章を抄録したアンソロジー。ゲノン著作集を揃えるつもりならば、あえて購入する必要はない。マーティン・リングスの「序文」が素晴らしいが、これもおそらくいずれリングス本に収録されるだろう。ある意味、ファンアイテムかも。
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From the United States
E. Kysela
5.0 out of 5 stars I don't agree with everything Guenon says but the translation is good.
Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2014
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This book is really for experts. I don't agree with everything Guenon says but the translation is good.
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Samuel Bendeck Sotillos
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential Reading for the Contemporary World
Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2010
"It is truly strange that people ask for proof concerning the possibility of a kind of [transcendent] knowledge instead of searching for it and verifying it for themselves by understanding the work necessary to acquire it." - René Guénon
"The civilization of the modern West appears in history as a veritable anomaly"--written in 1924, this statement typifies the prophetic eschatology of the French metaphysician René Guénon (1886-1951). At last such a work as this one has come to pass in order to bring together the magisterial and erudite oeuvre of Guénon, the founder, along with Frithjof Schuon (1907-1998), of what has become known as the "Traditionalist" or "Perennialist" school of thought. Other notable luminaries of this school were Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy (1877-1947) and Titus Burckhardt (1908-1984).
It may surprise readers unfamiliar with Guénon that he was referred to as the "Great Sufi" by a definitive sage of the twentieth Century, Sri Ramana Maharshi. Coomaraswamy, the seminal art historian, pointed out that Guénon was not an "Orientalist" but what in India would be deemed as a "master." Schuon affirmed that Guénon was intrinsically pneumatic or a jñanic type and stated that "On symbolism Guénon is unbeatable." Seyyed Hossein Nasr (b. 1933) wrote the following regarding Guénon's first book: "It was like a sudden burst of lightning, an abrupt intrusion into the modern world of a body of knowledge and a perspective utterly alien to the prevalent climate and world view and completely opposed to all that characterizes the modern mentality." The praise for Guénon is not limited to these statements, but is extended by decisive intellects and philosophers of the twentieth century.
Who René Guénon was as a person is a complex question that has puzzled the curious and frustrated the trivial, yet "individualist considerations" pertaining to his person, including biography, meant little or nothing to Guénon. A remarkable point to note is that Guénon did not put forward, or even attempt to create, a "new" or "novel" theory, nor was he interested in the "originality" of his ideas. His role and significance in the modern world was to wholeheartedly illuminate the universal metaphysics of the Primordial Tradition--known as the philosophia perennis or the perennial philosophy--"[T]ruth is one, and it is the same for all who, by whatever way, come to know it." He was to re-establish its primacy for contemporaries who were authentically seeking this uncompromised truth that was--"in conformity with the strictly traditional point of view"--known by many different names. This will appear odd to those living in the present time as novelty, not to mention monetary gain, as he noted with mathematical precision in the work The Reign of Quantity, are central motivating factors to all current activity.
Contrary to the timeless and universal tradition in the present weltanschauung is the endless talk of "change" as if present-day terrestrials have realized the inherent bankruptcy of the times--"disequilibrium cannot be a condition of real happiness." What kind of change is being suggested is not clear, yet change from the present conditions itself is surely beckoned. The "change," if we could so term it, was for Guénon not change in a future orientated "progress" but change for the realignment of the first principles underlying the traditional doctrines of the world's spiritualities. In this sense, the direction of change was not going forward or even backward but points to what is rooted in the immutable and eternal. Guénon suggested that if those in the current era could perceive the perilous end of "progress," it would unequivocally come to a halt: "If our contemporaries as a whole could see what it is that is guiding them and where they are really going, the modern world would at once cease to exist as such."
Some might question the relevance of such an obscure metaphysician in the context of today's world and suggest that establishing an "intellectual elite" to counter the perilous crisis of a disintegrating era--"the growing disorder in all domains"--is a utopian ideal, indicating his extreme naïveté or blatant ignorance. Hitherto, the large-scale crisis that Guénon astutely perceived did not only come to light and continue to unfold, but has palpitated into further disarray since he first identified and diagnosed the "intellectual myopia" or "intellectual atrophy" of an age that was well into--the Kali-Yuga or "Dark Age"--"what has no parallel is this gigantic collective hallucination by which a whole section of humanity has come to take the vainest fantasies for incontestable realities."
Along with a vital introduction by Martin Lings (1909-2005), who was a close associate of Guénon for many years while living in Egypt, there is also a key preface by John Herlihy, author of numerous books on traditional spirituality and the modern world. This work consists of four parts: The Modern World, The Metaphysical World, The Hindu World, and The Traditional World. This book also contains two helpful appendices to better acquaint those unfamiliar with Guénon. They include an overview of his life via a "Biography of René Guénon" and also a concise list of both French and English publications: "The Works of René Guénon."
A defining and axial feature of the traditionalist or perennialist critique of the modern and post-modern world is the reduction of the intellect or intellectus with reason or ratio. Rationalism in all its forms is essentially defined by a belief in the supremacy of reason, proclaimed as a veritable "dogma," and implying the denial of everything that is of a supra-individual order, notably of pure intellectual intuition; this carries with it logically the exclusion of all true metaphysical knowledge. This reductionism has given rise to a whole host of other confusions and misunderstandings such as the inversion of the "Self" with "ego" or "Personality" with "individuality," which is apropos contextualized with what has been termed the "multiple states of being":
[T]he human individual is both much more and much less than is generally supposed in the West: much more, by reason of his possibilities of indefinite extension beyond the corporeal modality, to which, in short, everything belongs that is commonly studied; but he is also much less, since far from constituting a complete self-sufficient being, he is but an outward manifestation, a fleeting appearance assumed by the true being, which in no way affects the essence of the latter in its immutability.
In his monumental essay "Eastern Metaphysics" Guénon demonstrated that the integral metaphysics of the perennial philosophy was neither of the East nor West, but found unanimously at the heart of all sapiential traditions regardless of time or place:
[I]n truth, pure metaphysics being essentially above and beyond all form and all contingency is neither Eastern nor Western but universal. The exterior forms with which it is covered only serve the necessities of exposition, to express whatever is expressible. These forms may be Eastern or Western; but under the appearance of diversity there is always a basis of unity, at least, wherever true metaphysics exists, for the simple reason that truth is one.
With regard to the universal metaphysics Guénon makes it clear that: "Exoterism and esoterism, regarded not as two distinct and more or less opposed doctrines, which would be quite an erroneous view, but as the two aspects of one and the same doctrine." This differs radically from New Age thought, which seeks to abolish transcendence in favor of immanence, and thereby loses any guarantee of truth and objectivity, that is to say the necessary "right-thinking" that is the first item on the noble Eightfold Path of Buddhism. (The opposite error, the abolition of immanence in favor of transcendence, is that of "Deism"; this renders any contact between God and man impossible.) For Guénon, as for the perennial philosophy, it is necessary that one be practicing an orthodox spiritual form and it was in this orientation that both the "outer" and "inner" dimensions of exoterism and esoterism can become available--"the same teaching is not understood in a equal degree by all who receive it...there are therefore those who in a certain sense discern the esoterism, while others, whose intellectual horizon is narrower, are limited to the exoterism."
The Essential René Guénon brings together the broad and illuminating spectrum of Guénon's corpus in a single volume like no other anthology currently available, which could very well realign the collective nucleus of sapiential wisdom to truly and integrally shift the predominant paradigm. Paradoxically, the more the current dissolution of what appears as the--"eleventh hour"--gains way, the evermore relevant and indispensable Guénon's work is. It is with our hope that this recent anthology will provide an antidotal remedy to the "intellectual myopia" of the times in order to reaffirm the sophia perennis--"multiple paths all leading to the same end." On a concluding note, although the present crisis is skillfully veiled and exclusively contextualized in economic terms, Guénon would indefatigably confirm that it is rather a prolongation of the very same Kali-Yuga accelerating in its steadfast progression: "it can be said in all truth that the `end of a world' never is and never can be anything but the end of an illusion."
-Parabola, issue "Desire", Vol. 35, No. 3, Fall 2010
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Jacob
5.0 out of 5 stars Maintain the Tradition
Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2012
This book is a compilation of Guenon's outlook on life and a fine introduction to the "traditionalist" school of religions. (It is probably best to speak of "metaphysics" instead of "religions," since on Guenon's gloss religion functions differently in the East than in the West.) Guenon begins with a searing critique of modernity. While not always explicitly stated, he attacks the modern world for embracing nominalism and reducing all reality to simple cause-and-effect. While such critiques are now quite common, one can only imagine the shock waves they caused in the 1920s. Unfortunately, this is probably the weakest section of the book because the chapters are simply snippets of individual chapters found elsewhere in Guenon's corpus. As a result the reader often feels that the "force" of the argument is missing.
The next section explicates the Hindu worldview as a case-study and alternative to Western rationalism. Upon Guenon's reading of Hinduism, the reader gets the impression that Hinduism is not simply the worship of 700 various deities, but rather a complicated system of Being, unity, and a poetic expression of various philosophical forces. Much of this section will be lost on the average reader--and it was certainly was lost on me--but there is still much that is valuable and fruitful for the reader. Guenon suggests that metaphysics is the foundation of traditional civilizations (77-78), metaphysics being defined as "beyond nature," or the "supernatural" (80).
Guenon ends his book with an extended discussion on tradition. What is interesting is that Guenon was largely unfamiliar with Eastern Orthodox Christianity, yet he explicates a traditional outlook that seems largely drawn from Orthodox textbooks. About the structure of tradition in a community he notes, "a unity of a traditional order purely and exclusively and has no need to depend upon any more or less exterior forms of organization or upon the support of any authority other than that of the doctrine itself (136). Guenon is not advocating anarchy, as will be seen below, but pointing out that tradition's essence does not depend upon the regulating function of an outside authority figure, such as a Pope.
"But," someone may object, "can you show me the divinely-inspired tradition at is point of inception?" The common-sense answer to the question, Guenon avers, is "no." Authentic traditions are very old and usually predate writing, or at least writing on a level where the material would survive the ravages of time. This does not mean that intelligent questions can never be asked of the tradition. One can legitimately, and reverently, ask the tradition, "Are later manifestations of the tradition deviations or do they faithfully embody the character of the tradition?" Or, "Do we see clear negations of earlier expressions, or do we see a general continuity throughout the ages, allowing only for linguistic, cultural, and regional differences" (unity-in-diversity)?
The book ends with a section on initiation, or "entering into the tradition." One enters the tradition by rituals seen as symbolic actions. The tradition's rites are efficacious because the "symbol-rite" produces in the initiate the power of the reality which it symbolizes" (Guenon, 226ff.). One should note, however, that this should not be seen as "magic" or "fetishism." Magic, as Guenon suggests, is the manipulation of dead matter, whereas the "rite" conveys spiritual realities through (very) material means.
Such begins the initiation into tradition, and Guenon approaches something very close to apostolic succession. He writes about an initiatic "chain" involved that transmits the spiritual realities in the physical community (255). Further, while books and texts are important, they can never substitute for this "initiatic chain." This protects the adept from occultic visions and private interpretations. Further, the intiatic chain can never be reduced to mere writing, for writing is always subjected to various interpretations. It is true, one may object, that tradition can be misinterpreted. Perhaps, but it is not misinterpreted in the same way. Traditions, particularly those of an initiatic nature, are embodied in communities which are often spread out over a geographical area, allowing the practitioners of the tradition to note what may be legitimate or illegitimate differences and practices in the locations. Further, the rites of tradition are not subject to "deconstructionism" the way a text in the tradition might be. Finally, since traditions are communal in nature, it is never a matter of "one's private interpretation." One may certainly have private interpretations of a various text, but that means nothing vis-à-vis the everyday practices of the tradition.
Guenon also examines the practices and symbols of various religions, which other reviewers have ably noted.
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Happy2B
5.0 out of 5 stars An Essential Read
Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2010
This is the first Guenon work that I've read. Having finished the book just this morning, I was excited to come and read other people's reviews, but, alas, there was only one, and herein lies the problem. People need to read this work and to think long and hard about it, especially now that we have more than sixty years on him from which to consider things. He saw so much so clearly and had an ability to integrate at a level surpassing the brightest among us. If only we all were even half as thoughtful as he . . . The last reviewer said he had read all the other works and then read this one. I am in the opposite situation and plan now to read all of his work. I would very much like to read them in chronological order and follow the evolution of his thought. We'll see.
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Jason Gregory (Author of Effortless Living, Fasting the Mind, Enlightenment Now, & The Science and Practice of Humility)
5.0 out of 5 stars Guenon is Essential in Studying Perennial Philosophy
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2016
As with most perennialist scholars, Guenon explores the importance of traditionalism and the primordial religion in the face of a culture that is increasingly becoming materialistic. He articulates beautifully the difference between the excessive quantitative perspective of the Kali Yuga as opposed to the spiritual qualitative way of life. A lot of people thought Guenon was a little harsh on society and culture back in his time, but from what we see in the modern world his concerns were justified. As with all the classics on perennial philosophy, you cannot look past Guenon to further your depth and understanding.
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From the United States
Gregory Shtevensh
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential
Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2018
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I'm a big fan. It can carry across disciplines. This is something that more people should know so that the happy few become happier.
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OAKSHAMAN
5.0 out of 5 stars A Lifetime Led Me Here.
Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2010
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The best recommendation that I can give to this book is that as I read through it I was refreshed. Then again this was also the case as I read THE ESSENTIAL FRITHJOF SCHUON from World Wisdom. With both authors I had read a considerable amount of their core writings before hand, yet I did not really feel any redundancy here. These teachings are the living heart of the perennial philosophy, so how could they ever cease to strengthen the connection to the higher Spirit?
Guenon states outright that only a very few readers in this dark age are going to possess the inherent capacity to understand his writings due to their education and upbringing. Nothing can be done about that. Somehow I seem to be able to understand what is being related. Indeed, I understood these principles long before I came on writers and teachers of the traditionalist school. Yet, those principles are related with a precision that goes far beyond my ability to express them- even in translation. Whether others resonate with them is something that I cannot predict. I would imagine that the odds are against it. Yet, you can still make the attempt. Intuitive intellection is a faculty that still exists in our world.
Another thing that struck me was an anecdote in the introduction where a Ph.D. candidate was denied permission to write his thesis on Guenon because the said writer had never done anything "original." Of course not. Rene Guenon intentionally stayed in the background as he related the teachings of the perennial philosophy to a new generation. You could just as well entitle this book "The Essential Sophia Perennis." You cannot add anything new to these teachings, you can merely pass them on with clarity to the current generation.
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James J. Omeara
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential Wisdom for the Kali Yuga
Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2010
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Recently, I found myself with some forced leisure on my hands, so I decided to make use of it by reading through the works of Rene Guenon in English, as published by Sophia Perennis. Yes, that's the kind of guy I am. In the midst of the project, this book was announced, and I was undecided; would it be redundant? In the end I decided to get it, and I'm glad I did.
First of all, the presentation is excellent -- a handsome size, sturdy binding, clear, well laid out typography, in line with the rest of World Wisdom's publications -- a pleasure to read. Some illustrations would have been nice, especially in the sections dealing with sacred symbolism, and one can always imagine a fancier format -- something along the lines of the Penguin Classics Deluxe Editions -- but these are minor points.
More importantly, the selections are well chosen; they are minimally edited but arranged to flow together almost as if they had appeared that way originally; usually two or three in a row from the same book, the books appearing somewhat chronologically but also within four "Worlds" : the Modern, the Metaphysical, the Hindu, and the Traditional. I suppose the Modern comes first, not the Metaphysical, to ease the modern reader into Guenon's metaphysical world; the Hindu is given its own due to the amount of attention Guenon devoted to it, while the Traditional has not only other traditions such as Islam but also topics that apply to traditions generally, such as rites, teachers, etc.
The selections, with few exceptions, are drawn from a handful of obvious major works; there's nothing here that's previously unpublished, or newly translated; no letters, diaries, etc. The Introduction, however, is drawn from a transcript of a lecture by Martin Lings that might be relatively inaccessible to the general reader.
This would obviously make a fine introduction to Guenon, but even someone who already has the original sources will find this a useful and pleasant supplement, something to pick up and read from time to time. I am reminded of Elmer O'Brien's comment about his similar anthology, The Essential Plotinus [not to be confused with World Wisdom's own The Heart of Plotinus]: these selections are essential in the sense that Coleridge spoke of essential poetry: the passages one returns to with the greatest pleasure.
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J. Crockett
5.0 out of 5 stars 5 STARS, hard copy; 2 STARS,kindle edition!
Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2013
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Content of the book is outstanding, BUT spaces in multi-sylable words in the kindle edition are nerve racking; several on each page in part 2. This matter should be fixed quickly, so that thinking readers can take advantage of the benefits in using a kindle. It beats me how such a great manuscript can be so mis-represented because of the technique used to copy. Where are the scribes when you need them?
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Richard Hynson
5.0 out of 5 stars A treasury of thought.
Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2015
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A treasury of thought, densely packed with excerpts of Rene Guenon's wisdom. A must-read for a serious student of theology.
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Joshua Kempf
4.0 out of 5 stars I would have liked to know this
Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2017
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A compilation of chapters from Guenon's books and introductions and summaries from the editor. I think 5 out of 36 chapters are Guenon. The "summaries" are not always representative. I would have liked to know this. Cheaper than buying all his books and faster than reading them all. I love to read and would not have chosen the short cut. I like Guenon. I find this editor/author offensive.
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percy bernedo
5.0 out of 5 stars a must for anyone interested in Metaphysics
Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2014
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this book give us a sober view of our world in which quantity has replaced quality, It will also help the reader understand the primordial truth behind traditional religions.
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Brian D. Babiak
5.0 out of 5 stars An essential book
Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2015
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One of the most important books I've ever read. He correctly diagnoses what's wrong with our modern world.
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DANIEL SAVESCU
5.0 out of 5 stars excelent
Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2013
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An excellent book which have to be read by anyone who cares about himself and his personal growth. Especially brethern
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Luis Garnica
4.0 out of 5 stars Good general information
Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2012
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A very good resume of many different topics, clear, an enough for start up the knowledge from a serious source
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Jacob Aitken
Apr 06, 2012Jacob Aitken rated it liked it
Shelves: alternative-research, eschatology, fighting-the-new-world-order, hermeneutics, medievalism, ontology, philosophy, worldview, the-western-canon
This book is a compilation of Guenon’s outlook on life and a fine introduction to the “traditionalist” school of religions. (It is probably best to speak of “metaphysics” instead of “religions,” since on Guenon’s gloss religion functions differently in the East than in the West.) Guenon begins with a searing critique of modernity. While not always explicitly stated, he attacks the modern world for embracing nominalism and reducing all reality to simple cause-and-effect. While such critiques are now quite common, one can only imagine the shock waves they caused in the 1920s. Unfortunately, this is probably the weakest section of the book because the chapters are simply snippets of individual chapters found elsewhere in Guenon’s corpus. As a result the reader often feels that the “force” of the argument is missing.
The next section explicates the Hindu worldview as a case-study and alternative to Western rationalism. Upon Guenon’s reading of Hinduism, the reader gets the impression that Hinduism is not simply the worship of 700 various deities, but rather a complicated system of Being, unity, and a poetic expression of various philosophical forces. Much of this section will be lost on the average reader—and it was certainly was lost on me—but there is still much that is valuable and fruitful for the reader. Guenon suggests that metaphysics is the foundation of traditional civilizations (77-78), metaphysics being defined as “beyond nature,” or the “supernatural” (80).
Guenon ends his book with an extended discussion on tradition. What is interesting is that Guenon was largely unfamiliar with Eastern Orthodox Christianity, yet he explicates a traditional outlook that seems largely drawn from Orthodox textbooks. About the structure of tradition in a community he notes, “a unity of a traditional order purely and exclusively and has no need to depend upon any more or less exterior forms of organization or upon the support of any authority other than that of the doctrine itself (136). Guenon is not advocating anarchy, as will be seen below, but pointing out that tradition’s essence does not depend upon the regulating function of an outside authority figure, such as a Pope.i (One could respond that the Holy Spirit is the principle of unity for Orthodox Christians and that would be true, but God’s actions in history are never un-interpreted and to leave it at that would beg the question. However, we may say that we identify the Holy Spirit’s actions by the transmission of that tradition in the community.)
While tradition does not need an external and legalistic authority figure to give it life, it must be noted that traditional societies are often hierarchical societies (Guenon, 151). Thus, we have priests and bishops. To note: these do not function in the role of top-down, external authorities, but as organic expressions of the traditional community (bearing in mind that tradition, on both Guenon’s gloss and the Orthodox Church’s gloss, is divinely inspired). This line of thought becomes particularly interesting when applied to the political order. Guenon, referencing his book Spiritual Authority and Temporal Power (2001), notes that kings were best seen as guardians and regulators of the tradition as it manifested itself in the social order (153). The parallels to Orthodox kings and emperors should not be overlooked: while charges of Caesaropapism abound (and have been ably rebutted by Fr John Meyendorffii), the king was not primarily responsible for the internal life of the church, though abuses did happen. Rather, he was to protect the tradition from outside invaders and threats. Guenon even suggests a connection between the “regulation” of tradition and the Latin word “rex.” (Perhaps this is why it is so difficult for democratic societies to maintain a coherent tradition, particularly in modern America. Each new democratically-elected administration is often a negation of the previous administration. This cannot be healthy for society.)
“But,” someone may object, “can you show me the divinely-inspired tradition at is point of inception?” The common-sense answer to the question, Guenon avers, is “no.” Authentic traditions are very old and usually predate writing, or at least writing on a level where the material would survive the ravages of time.iii This does not mean that intelligent questions can never be asked of the tradition. One can legitimately, and reverently, ask the tradition, “Are later manifestations of the tradition deviations or do they faithfully embody the character of the tradition?” Or, “Do we see clear negations of earlier expressions, or do we see a general continuity throughout the ages, allowing only for linguistic, cultural, and regional differences” (unity-in-diversity)?
The book ends with a section on initiation, or “entering into the tradition.” One enters the tradition by rituals seen as symbolic actions. The tradition’s rites are efficacious because the “symbol-rite” produces in the initiate the power of the reality which it symbolizes” (Guenon, 226ff.). One should note, however, that this should not be seen as “magic” or “fetishism.” Magic, as Guenon suggests, is the manipulation of dead matter, whereas the “rite” conveys spiritual realities through (very) material means.
Such begins the initiation into tradition, and Guenon approaches something very close to apostolic succession. He writes about an initiatic “chain” involved that transmits the spiritual realities in the physical community (255). Further, while books and texts are important, they can never substitute for this “initiatic chain.” This protects the adept from occultic visions and private interpretations.iv Further, the intiatic chain can never be reduced to mere writing, for writing is always subjected to various interpretations. It is true, one may object, that tradition can be misinterpreted. Perhaps, but it is not misinterpreted in the same way. Traditions, particularly those of an initiatic nature, are embodied in communities which are often spread out over a geographical area, allowing the practitioners of the tradition to note what may be legitimate or illegitimate differences and practices in the locations. Further, the rites of tradition are not subject to “deconstructionism” the way a text in the tradition might be. Finally, since traditions are communal in nature, it is never a matter of “one’s private interpretation.” One may certainly have private interpretations of a various text, but that means nothing vis-à-vis the everyday practices of the tradition.
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Tim
Mar 16, 2014Tim rated it it was amazing
Shelves: islam, islam-perennialism
Rene Guenon was in many ways a modern revivalist, with a call that was near prophetic in nature, inviting humanity to return to foundational truth that is timeless and beyond particularity. Martin Lings, in his excellent introduction states the current conditions of modernity as follows: "Unity has become a multiplicity without center or purpose, while the sublimity of a wondrous spirituality has become a pedantic display of materialism dressed in the pretensions of rationality." (16) This says a lot about the perspective from which Guenon writes, and about the mindset which is necessary to understand him.
To Guenon, who was the "founder" of what many have termed the Perennialist or Traditionalist school of thought, this multiplicity without purpose has resulted from a gradual descent in spiritual consciousness. In the "profane" or non-spiritual realm, this descent is seen in the way that spirituality itself is veiled by innumerous distractions inherent to the very structures of modernity. In the religious traditions, these veils have caused a disproportionate focus on exoteric or external religiosity at the expense of underlying meaning, which at the higher transcendent levels of all religions is recognized as beyond form, beyond symbols, beyond comprehension, but unequivocally unified.
This is not to say that Guenon and the other Perennialists disavow traditional religious orthodoxy or adherence. The very message to return to the primordial path is itself a call to realize that all true religion is of the Divine Essence, and that the different paths have been revealed to a diverse world that varies in its circumstances, contexts and environmental conditions. For this reason, the transcendent Real has chosen certain paths up the summit of the mountain, yet has made it a natural law that one must remain vertically adherent to a particular path in order to reach the vertical goal. Crossing horizontally onto another path does nothing to increase progression towards ultimate union, and in fact results in disorientation and wasted efforts.
The ability to realize that the path is different than the goal is the same ability to hold in tension the idea of the importance of orthodoxy in religious practice while being able to learn from and recognize universal meaning behind all revealed religions, rites and traditional practices. Guenon sees - per Hinduism - humanity as being in the closing phase of a particular spiritual cycle, and within this cycle Hinduism is the oldest most primordial expression, while Islam is the latest and perhaps most universal. Yet with Guenon universality as a term transcends religious notions, and the very nature of a divine religious form means that it is a part of universality and therefore has an equal share in the truth.
Guenon spends a great deal of time discussing symbols as well as the esoteric/exoteric dichotomy. He argues that Hinduism as the oldest current spiritual form is also the one that most perfectly transcends that particular duality in one unified spiritual expression. For this reason, he utilizes Hindu symbolism to illustrate universal truths and often compares them with symbols from other traditions that express the same underlying concepts.
Guenon had a varied spiritual background. He was raised Roman Catholic, initiated into Hinduism, and ultimately converted to Islam as a Sufi initiate, moving to Egypt where he was known as Shaykh 'Abd al-Wahid Yahya. His call is to eliminate multiplicity on all levels, from the formal world which distracts from the true essence, to religious reactivity in failing to transcend the apparent duality in both the way we view others and the way we fail to delve below the surface in our religious traditions.
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TR
Nov 22, 2011TR rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Shelves: spirituality, rr, sophia, buy
This is a remarkable compilation of selections from probably the greatest traditionalist/perennialist. Anyone seriously interested in spirituality and the decline of European societies must read this.
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Natasha11
Feb 17, 2013Natasha11 rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Whether one agrees with his often times far out theories and speculations, one cannot doubt this man is a genius that has not received enough attention.
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Norman Bennett Jr.
Jun 10, 2020Norman Bennett Jr. rated it it was amazing
An adequate introduction to a wide range of Guenon's writing. (less)
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